


Life Goes On

by amine



Series: Gen X and Gen Z [22]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Trailer, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Light Angst, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-01 08:32:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18332420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amine/pseuds/amine
Summary: "He’d carefully avoided saying it in front of Pepper, Rhodey or even May, because they’d also known Peter, and they would share in his grief. Sharing that grief would just make it more real, and the images of a terrified Peter Parker would haunt more than just his nightmares. Not even May’s inhuman scream of agony when Tony came to tell her what had happened had broken down his resolve.Instead, he’d done it in front of Cap."





	Life Goes On

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to write Iron Dad for months, but a winter slump hit me pretty hard, so I haven't been able to.
> 
> ...and then Marvel punched me in the face with that trailer today and now here we are.
> 
> Sorry this is short, but hopefully this is the start of me getting back into the groove. :)

“I want my kid back.”

It was the first time he’d actually said it out loud, even though he’d had plenty of opportunities to do so. 

He’d carefully avoided saying it in front of Pepper, Rhodey or even May, because they’d also known Peter, and they would share in his grief. Sharing that grief would just make it more real, and the images of a terrified Peter Parker would haunt more than just his nightmares. Not even May’s inhuman scream of agony when Tony came to tell her what had happened had broken down his resolve.

Instead, he’d done it in front of Cap. 

Steve looked up with a confused expression, brow furrowing as he studied Tony’s face.

“Did you and Pepper…?”

Tony scoffed and shook his head, the thought of his conversation with Pepper in the park a bleak reminder of what he hadn’t realized he’d had all along.

_I dreamt we had a kid. It was so real._

“No. Ha ha, _no_.” He laughed, but it was sarcastic and hollow, which made Steve’s brow furrow even more. 

“This kid was…”

He trailed off and stared off into space. Steve followed his gaze, looking around the room as if searching for signs of the mystery child. Tony closed his eyes as he thought of all of the traces of Peter that were all over the compound.

A worn out pair of sneakers in one of the training warehouses.

A dirty Midtown Tech hoodie tossed to the side.

The remnants of their failed tinkering experiments in the lab.

The various “Tony & Peter” playlists that F.R.I.D.A.Y. had queued up.

So many backpacks. _So many backpacks._

The picture he’d taken with Peter to make the internship look official, so that Peter’s bullies would get off his back. It was finding that picture that prompted Tony to finally want to say something, because the casual indifference in his expression as he held that stupid certificate upside-down and gave Peter bunny ears made him want to yell at himself in frustration. He remembered how Peter had come back dejected saying that Flash had accused him of photoshopping the picture.

_“‘And you didn’t even bother to fix the part where it was upside-down!’ What a jerk.”_

He’d had the picture printed and framed, so that maybe one day he’d be able to rub it in Flash’s face himself.

Even if any of the others, who were around the compound long before he’d come back, had found those traces of Peter, would they even recognize them for what they were? Would they understand the significance of Tony letting another person—a teenager, no less—into his life like that?

He opened his eyes again and shrugged.

“He was...not even my kid.”

Steve stared at him without saying anything for a long time, and for a moment, Tony felt like they truly understood each other for the first time. Tony had heard about Barnes from Bruce, but he would wait and let Steve bring that up himself. He would wait for all of them to work through their grief enough to push forward.

Steve finally sighed and clapped him on the shoulder before quickly withdrawing his hand.

“We’ll get him back, Tony. We’ll get them _all_ back.”

Tony turned to look at Steve, whose face was resolute in his decisiveness, and he nodded.


End file.
